mike_cook82
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2009
- Messages
- 411
- Reaction score
- 15
Ok so heres the story.
-Day 1: Jeff and myself head over to Dustins and load the jeep onto the trailer and set out for Vandenberg. We reach Vandenburg at about 7, got checked into our room, purchased our permits and stickers and hit the field around 10 and didnt see anything that resembled a pig all day. We did see quite a few good looking blacktails. Drank beer and ate pizza and prepared for the next day.
-Day 2: We put the jeep on the trailer again and headed north to FHL and stopped at my favorite diner, "Pappys" in Santa Maria off of Beteravia road. We arrive at FHL around 10 or 11, check into our room and then head out to pick up some extra supplies and spot a monstrosity of a bull in an archery/muzzleloader area with his mistresses milling about. We pulled off the side of the road to make a phone call and the jeep sank up to the axles almost. Had to get a hummvee to yank us out. We attend the orientation and pick up a metric ton of useful information about the Tule elk and its history. We call it a night early in preparation for the next days hunt. We have already decided on the area we want to hunt as dustin who works up there regularly has seen them quite often in this area.
-Day 3: We get up and sign in and get rolling around 0430. We hit our training area wide open with dreams of dragging an elk out by 730. well our dreams didnt come to fruition. we hiked about 14 total miles according to the gps but the fact that each of us at any given time had at least 6 inches of mud on our boots only complicated things further. We decide to set up on a heavily trampled area and glass around about 6-7 miles into our hike. it was about 30 minutes into my glassing session when i heard the tell tale sound of a hog squeeling. I looked at dusting and said, "F-it lets go get some sausage!" we take off on foot and spot the pack of 10-12 oinkers heading away from us and i drop down on a game trail and i take the bipod down on my 7mm mag and prepare to give one of the bigger ones the copper death. Keep in mind that at least 2 of these pigs were in the 300+ pound range. As one crosses the game trail i have to lean forward on my rifle to bring the horizontal line of my crosshairs down onto the slab of pork, all of a sudden my rifle collapses onto the ground. I give it a quick look and realize the right bipod leg has come unscrewed and the nut is no where to be found. I immediately hop up into the kneeling position but by this time they had made their way into the high grass. I set out at an all out sprint across the flat area and watched them head up a hill. I set up on a tree and zeroed in on their position. They gave me another shot and i wasnt prepared to take them. There must have been grass in the way because I could clearly see the trees on either side of them but they appeared to be shadows and i couldnt tell what i was aiming at so i didnt shoot. I turned away ashamed and started to head back to where i had dropped my gear. Dustin and myself start packing our gear back on and jeff says pig and points. There at 100 yds is a 150 pound boar. I drop back into the mud into a kneeling position and let one rip. 6 inches high over its shoulders. shame on me. We hike the 7 miles back to the jeep and call it a day.
-Day 4: We decide our best bet is to road hunt just to spot the herds. we once again dont see anything that resembles a bull. I did see a lone cow walking in the middle of nowhere. we returned to the game station to see if anyone had any pointers for us and we got to witness a party of three guys being cited and having to forfeit their bull which was a very nice 6x7 or so. They shot it in a restricted area (20) and drug it over to a legal rifle area and then called for help to get it in their truck. When the game wardens showed up they realized that their was a blood trail heading from the impact zone(20) onto where they head supposedly shot their bull. It doesnt take the head cashier at wal mart to figure that one out. we go to bed feeling the pressure for the next day which would only be a 1/2 day and our last as we all had to head back for christmas and my wife is on the verge of going into labor.
-Day 5: We get up at 0530 and sack up. We all head out with one mission in our minds, "Shoot a Bull Elk!!!!!" we park on the side of a road and a vehicle passes us as we wait for first light. We had devised a plan the night before on a route to drive around and all of a sudden we decided to stick with our gut instincts and go to the left instead of straight. It payed off. We immediately spot a herd of 10+ cows and we keep crawling along the road as silently as possible. 100 yds down the road we spot a small bachelor herd of 6 bulls. We jump out, uncase my rifle and load it, and start running to get off the road and to close the distance. I get down the embankment about 300 yds off the road and notice that they had stopped to check me out. I sight in on the only bull who doesnt have another bull behind it( I was extremely worried about over penetration with my barnes 7mm mag). This was when they took off and i took a shot on the last bull and i aimed for the shoulder and with teh lead it actually hit him in the butt! he went down and hopped back up and took off into an archery/muzzleloader area. We watched him attempt to go back up the hill and his legs gave out on him. i called the game shack to inform them of what had happened and they gave me the go ahead to pull him out of the archery area. The bullet had passed through both femurs and had ruptured both arteries. We drug him through a ditch and gutted him and man handled him into the jeep and off we went. the rest is history! thanks for reading our story!
-Day 1: Jeff and myself head over to Dustins and load the jeep onto the trailer and set out for Vandenberg. We reach Vandenburg at about 7, got checked into our room, purchased our permits and stickers and hit the field around 10 and didnt see anything that resembled a pig all day. We did see quite a few good looking blacktails. Drank beer and ate pizza and prepared for the next day.
-Day 2: We put the jeep on the trailer again and headed north to FHL and stopped at my favorite diner, "Pappys" in Santa Maria off of Beteravia road. We arrive at FHL around 10 or 11, check into our room and then head out to pick up some extra supplies and spot a monstrosity of a bull in an archery/muzzleloader area with his mistresses milling about. We pulled off the side of the road to make a phone call and the jeep sank up to the axles almost. Had to get a hummvee to yank us out. We attend the orientation and pick up a metric ton of useful information about the Tule elk and its history. We call it a night early in preparation for the next days hunt. We have already decided on the area we want to hunt as dustin who works up there regularly has seen them quite often in this area.
-Day 3: We get up and sign in and get rolling around 0430. We hit our training area wide open with dreams of dragging an elk out by 730. well our dreams didnt come to fruition. we hiked about 14 total miles according to the gps but the fact that each of us at any given time had at least 6 inches of mud on our boots only complicated things further. We decide to set up on a heavily trampled area and glass around about 6-7 miles into our hike. it was about 30 minutes into my glassing session when i heard the tell tale sound of a hog squeeling. I looked at dusting and said, "F-it lets go get some sausage!" we take off on foot and spot the pack of 10-12 oinkers heading away from us and i drop down on a game trail and i take the bipod down on my 7mm mag and prepare to give one of the bigger ones the copper death. Keep in mind that at least 2 of these pigs were in the 300+ pound range. As one crosses the game trail i have to lean forward on my rifle to bring the horizontal line of my crosshairs down onto the slab of pork, all of a sudden my rifle collapses onto the ground. I give it a quick look and realize the right bipod leg has come unscrewed and the nut is no where to be found. I immediately hop up into the kneeling position but by this time they had made their way into the high grass. I set out at an all out sprint across the flat area and watched them head up a hill. I set up on a tree and zeroed in on their position. They gave me another shot and i wasnt prepared to take them. There must have been grass in the way because I could clearly see the trees on either side of them but they appeared to be shadows and i couldnt tell what i was aiming at so i didnt shoot. I turned away ashamed and started to head back to where i had dropped my gear. Dustin and myself start packing our gear back on and jeff says pig and points. There at 100 yds is a 150 pound boar. I drop back into the mud into a kneeling position and let one rip. 6 inches high over its shoulders. shame on me. We hike the 7 miles back to the jeep and call it a day.
-Day 4: We decide our best bet is to road hunt just to spot the herds. we once again dont see anything that resembles a bull. I did see a lone cow walking in the middle of nowhere. we returned to the game station to see if anyone had any pointers for us and we got to witness a party of three guys being cited and having to forfeit their bull which was a very nice 6x7 or so. They shot it in a restricted area (20) and drug it over to a legal rifle area and then called for help to get it in their truck. When the game wardens showed up they realized that their was a blood trail heading from the impact zone(20) onto where they head supposedly shot their bull. It doesnt take the head cashier at wal mart to figure that one out. we go to bed feeling the pressure for the next day which would only be a 1/2 day and our last as we all had to head back for christmas and my wife is on the verge of going into labor.
-Day 5: We get up at 0530 and sack up. We all head out with one mission in our minds, "Shoot a Bull Elk!!!!!" we park on the side of a road and a vehicle passes us as we wait for first light. We had devised a plan the night before on a route to drive around and all of a sudden we decided to stick with our gut instincts and go to the left instead of straight. It payed off. We immediately spot a herd of 10+ cows and we keep crawling along the road as silently as possible. 100 yds down the road we spot a small bachelor herd of 6 bulls. We jump out, uncase my rifle and load it, and start running to get off the road and to close the distance. I get down the embankment about 300 yds off the road and notice that they had stopped to check me out. I sight in on the only bull who doesnt have another bull behind it( I was extremely worried about over penetration with my barnes 7mm mag). This was when they took off and i took a shot on the last bull and i aimed for the shoulder and with teh lead it actually hit him in the butt! he went down and hopped back up and took off into an archery/muzzleloader area. We watched him attempt to go back up the hill and his legs gave out on him. i called the game shack to inform them of what had happened and they gave me the go ahead to pull him out of the archery area. The bullet had passed through both femurs and had ruptured both arteries. We drug him through a ditch and gutted him and man handled him into the jeep and off we went. the rest is history! thanks for reading our story!
